New batting coach Greg Smith excited by 'seriously talented' Northants squad

The former Derbyshire and Essex all-rounder joined the County Ground staff at the start of the year, making the switch from his director of cricket role at Penzance Cricket Club in Cornwall, a role he held for close to eight years.

The 40-year-old admits it is 'brilliant' he has been given the chance to get back in the professional game with Northants, and it is an opportunity he intends to make the most of.

The South African had interviews elsewhere as well, but says it was 'the vision' of County head coach John Sadler and the head of the club's cricket strategy committee, Stephen Peters, that persuaded him Northants was the right option for him.

Smith was announced as the new batting coach in December, and then spent many hours doing his homework on the Northants batters before getting to work with them face to face when he started his role in January.

He joins a club in a bit of transition following relegation from the LV= Insurance County Championship Division One last summer, with many of the old guard such as Josh Cobb, Gareth Berg, Simon Kerrigan and Tom Taylor and others all moving on.

Signing on in their place are batter George Bartlett from Somerset and fast bowler George Scrimshaw from Derbyshire, and they join a squad that underachived last season, with most of the issues, certainly in the four-day game, with the bat.

And that is where Smith comes in as he is tasked with improving that department, and so far he has liked what he has seen.

"As everyone knows, it was a disappointing season last year, and it is a case of almost trying to forget about that, because you can't change it," said Smith.

"It is a very exciting squad here, there are some seriously talented players and they probably just need to be guided and groomed in the right way now, and also backed.

"I think they need to be backed because they haven't become bad players overnight. As a player I went through bad periods, and it doesn't mean I was a bad player.

"They are training exceptionally hard, and their mindset and the way we are talking to them is all positive.

"For me as a batting coach, I don’t want to come in and start dictating to them straight away, I have to build those relationships, and I think my busiest time will probably be next winter.

"I have come in in January, the season starts in April, so I can't do too much, but there are a few little technical changes I can suggest, and when the time is right I will mention that, but I think it is more about mindset and positivity, and I am quite a positive guy.

"But in terms of the club and what was mentioned to me, there are a lot of talented players here, a lot of players who want to play at the next level, and it's now them making sure they produce the goods.

"It is easy to do it in training, but they have got to produce the goods out in the middle."

So, what does Smith see as his role? How can he have an impact as a batting coach?

"I think it's all about keeping it simple," he said.

"In the past I have had some good coaches and I have had some bad coaches, and I am not saying I am the finished article by any stretch.

"I want to learn every day, and I think that is good and a positive thing.

"For me, it is making sure the players' processes are simple and they stick to them.

"Because county cricket comes so thick and fast, you can get into a rut with a couple of low scores and the games just keep coming at you.

"I have been there, and you start thinking about your technique, and this and that, and not actually focusing on the red ball, or white ball, whatever it is.

"So that is the key for me, keep it simple, keep your processes in your training simple and consistent and that is something for you to fall back on.

"Yes, there is going to be the odd technical thing that players might have, but if you can have a process that you can be consistent with and believe in, then you are halfway there.

"If you start chopping and changing, and you are hearing different voices all the time, that can be quite a dangerous place to be."

Born in Johannesburg, Smith went on to play for South Africa in the Under-19 World Cup in 2002, before making the move to England as a Kolpak player in 2004, signing for Derbyshire.

In his professional career, Smith scored more than 5,500 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 30.62, with a top score of 177, while also scored just shy of 4,000 runs in white ball cricket.

He also claimed 184 first-class wickets and more than 100 in 50-over and T20 competitions.

He spent eight years at Derby, before making the switch to Essex in 2012, and then retired from first-class cricket in 2015, at the age of 32.

That was when he made the decision to head for Cornwall, and he believes the stint as director of cricket with Penzance has been a crucial building block for him, and made him a more complete coach, and person.

"I loved it there, and it was good for my development as a coach," said Smith.

"Sometimes you can go from playing and straight into coaching at first-class level, and you haven't really done all the hard work.

"You don't know how to deal with different people, different characters. Also, sometimes in professional cricket there is not a lot of coaching you have to do, because they are there for a reason.

"But going in at Penzance was really good, and I took them from nothing really, to dominating.

"There were players that hadn't played minor counties cricket, and suddenly we had seven or eight playing in the minor counties and doing well.

"Then there was the juniors, some of whom couldn't hold a bat, and now they are in the pathway system at Cornwall, so it was quite a rewarding time for me.

"I really enjoyed working in girls' cricket as well, so in terms of coaching awareness it was very good for me, but I think the time is right for me to be back in the pro game now.

"It is something I always wanted to do, but sometimes opportunities don't always arise.

"There are only 18 counties and everybody wants to be a coach, so my time at Penzance was a good thing.

"Hopefully now, for however long it goes, I can be successful in making players not just better players, but also better people in how they go about everything. That is key for me.

"I am really looking forward to what will be a new challenge."